1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to materials management systems and more particularly to systems for the management of hazardous and toxic materials especially chemicals.
2. Description of Related Art
The regulation and control of chemicals, hazardous materials, and hazardous wastes by the government is becoming more and more restrictive to the point where institutions such as chemical labs, doctors' offices, and businesses, corporations with a need to handle chemicals, hazardous materials, and hazardous wastes cannot easily stay up to date on the current laws. As used herein the term "chemical" or "chemicals" is defined as hazardous materials, hazardous wastes, or in select cases nonhazardous materials that are but a portion of an inventory containing hazardous materials or wastes. From this point forward and in all documentation pertaining to this invention, the terms "chemical(s), hazardous material(s), hazardous waste(s)" are used interchangeably.
A typical example of problems encountered in the management of hazardous material can be seen from the perspective of an educational institution such as a college or university. Historically there has not been sufficient budgetary and management priority given to developing waste management programs at those type of institutions. Most problems in hazardous material management arise from an institution's lack of awareness about hazardous waste and applicable regulations, the lack of proper training of the employees, highly variable waste streams which contain multiple materials combined together, the high cost and location of off-site treatments, storage and disposal facilities, and the difficulties in complying with the vast and varied hazardous material regulations.
Many different systems exist for retrieving chemical inventories, transmitting chemical records electronically to other facilities, evaluating compliance with environmental and other regulations, or monitor emergency response activities. However, prior art solutions have targeted specific solutions for a specific user which makes it very expensive and difficult for many businesses and institutions to meet the comprehensive requirements involved with using toxic and hazardous materials.
Furthermore, in many organizations chemical inventory management needs vary across the organization. However, the prior art does not provide system design that can alter the inventory design structure to meet the individual needs of the divisions and departments within a multifaceted organization. The inflexibility of present system design forces organizations to do either of the following: 1) purchase, maintain, and update more than one system, which increases the overall costs and makes it more difficult to oversee, coordinate, and manage the chemical inventory management needs of the entire organization; or 2) purchase, maintain, and update one system that forces conformity, which does not address the individual needs within the organization and can cost an organization in regard to time, money, and increased legal jeopardy.
The areas addressed by the prior art are streamlined in the present system regarding specific aspects of hazardous material/chemical management. Present off-the-shelf software packages typically address only one of the following areas of hazardous material/chemical management: 1) hazardous substance information, 2) legislative and regulatory information, 3) hazardous substance inventory management, 4) risk and hazard assessment, 5) training and testing modules, and 6) integrated emergency management. A few software packages address two or at most three of the above areas. In addition, the packages that include hazardous substance inventory management can only accommodate centralized and decentralized inventory methods. None of the prior art systems do the following: 1) true unique inventory tracking methodology, 2) support both bar code and non-bar code tracking, 3) provide comprehensive hazardous/material label printing capabilities that address regulatory compliance issues, 4) incorporate an international design element (important today with the increase in international trade and transfer of information in the everevolving global community), or 5) provide a communication network for users. Furthermore, prior art systems have limited cross platform capabilities and the designs are typically not user friendly.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a comprehensive system to allow institutions the ability to address the full range of hazardous material/chemical management essential today and in the future. Providing this capability helps minimize the amount of hazardous material produced, improves management practices, provides an additional layer of protection to emergency response personnel, provides an international component needed by present institutions working in the international arena, helps train the people to use the system, and educates the individual users regarding safe handling and storage procedures that meet or exceed present regulatory standards.
Therefore there is a need for providing a system to allow institutions to minimize the amount of hazardous waste materials produced, improve the management practices, and to help train the people using the system. Further, it would be desirable to provide a system that provides information for evaluating chemical reactions, toxicity of chemicals, chemical storage and handling procedures, and chemical disposal guidelines.
In addition, the ever-increasing sensitivity to environmental and health issues and the inherent dangers of handling, storing, and disposing of chemicals are of major concern. The sheer number of chemicals readily available at a typical laboratory makes the adequate training of employees in the proper handling of these chemicals nearly impossible without some form of assistance. Also, increasing federal, state, and local environmental/health regulations pose an overwhelming information management problem which, if not addressed, could result in debilitating fines and possible crippling financial liability to the institution.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an information and compliance database system that provides the user with a wide variety of critical information including handling, storage, and emergency response methods and guidelines for a cradle-to-grave management of hazardous chemicals and waste.